Heart assist devices can take a number of forms. In one form, a pump is inserted in the circulatory system so as to draw blood from the ventricle and provide it to the vasculature. Such a pump is known as a ventricular assist device, or VAD. A VAD is useful when the ventricle is incapable of providing adequate blood flow alone.
While some VADs can provide a permanent solution for a weakened or dysfunctional ventricle, that is not always the case. For example, the VAD may simply be used as a bridge-to-transplantation implant, where the need for assistance is immediate, but a donor heart is not yet available. In such a case, when the heart is removed, the connection to the ventricle is removed. Also, it may be desirable to remove a VAD if the condition of the heart improves, in which case both connections could possibly remain, and would need to be covered, or plugged. In another case, it may be desirable to replace the implanted pump or a component, for example, if a different size pump is needed, if an improved pump is developed, or if the implanted pump or a component has operating troubles.
It is preferable to replace a pump in the most atraumatic manner possible, and typically without removing or destroying any connections to the patient's tissue. Replacing one pump or component with another, or covering conduits that serve a pump when the pump is removed, can be difficult. Specifically, open heart operations have both time and space constraints, as the chest cavity does not provide much room for a surgeon to work, and an operation provides less stress on the patient if it can be completed quickly with minimum tissue trauma. At the same time, the chest cavity can contain blood and other fluids during surgery, which can cover blood pump connectors so that they are hard to see, and so that they are slippery and hard to grasp. Thus, there is a need for connectors that can be manipulated well within the operational confines of surgery. At the same time, the connectors also need to provide a stable, strong, and reliable connection while working in a hostile environment, and connected to a moving object—the heart.